Bradford, who leads the nation in touchdown passes with 48, received 1,726 points

	Sam Bradford

Dec. 13, 2008

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Sam Bradford of the University of Oklahoma was selected as the 74th winner of the Heisman Memorial Trophy as the Most Outstanding College Football Player in the United States for 2008.

Sanford Wurmfeld, of the Heisman Trophy Trust, which annually presents the Heisman Memorial Trophy Award, announced the selection of Bradford on Saturday evening, December 13th, on a nationally televised ESPN sports special live from the Nokia Theatre in Times Square.

The victory for the 6'4", 218-pound Bradford marks the fifth time a Sooner has won the Heisman Trophy. He joins Billy Vessels (1952), Steve Owens (1969), Billy Sims (1978) and Jason White (2003). He is the 2nd sophomore (after fellow finalist, Tim Tebow, became the 1st last year) and the 30th quarterback to receive the award. The University of Oklahoma continues to rank 4th in number of Heisman winners behind Notre Dame, Ohio State and Southern California, who all have seven winners.

Bradford, of Oklahoma City, OK, has completed 302 of his 442 passes this year, for 4,464 yards and 48 touchdowns while throwing only 6 interceptions. He also has rushed for 5 touchdowns. While leading the highest scoring offense in the history of Division I College Football, Bradford broke the Oklahoma season and career touchdown records both previously held by 2003 Heisman winner Jason White. His 84 career touchdowns are the most ever for a player at the end of his sophomore season. He has quarterbacked Oklahoma to a 12-1 record and a berth in the BCS Championship Game on January 8th against Florida where he will face off against fellow finalist, Tim Tebow.

Ballots were mailed to 870 media personnel across the nation plus 55 Heisman winners and one fan ballot, for a total of 926 electors. The ballots are received and tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP. Bradford polled 1,726 points to capture the award over Colt McCoy of Texas, who polled 1,604 points, and the 2007 Heisman winner, Tim Tebow of Florida, with 1,575 points. The point total is reached by a system of three points for a first place vote, two for a second and one for a third.

For more information, contact Tim Henning at 212-425-7000.

Sam Bradford, 2008 Heisman Winner:

• Oklahoma's fifth Heisman trophy
• Winner of the Sammy Baugh Award as the nation's top passer
• Winner of the Davey O'Brien Award
• 2nd sophomore to win Heisman trophy
• 2nd Sooner in five years to win Heisman
• Bradford won 4 of the 6 voting regions; Tebow won 1 and McCoy won 1
• Ranked 17th by Scout.com as a high school quarterback
• Broke Heisman trophy winner Jason White's school record for most consecutive passes with 22
• 5th number 14 to win Heisman
• 2nd consecutive player to raise the trophy with a cast
• 4 of 5 Oklahoma Heisman winners were born in Oklahoma
• Bradford is believed to be the first Cherokee to start at quarterback for a Division I university since Sonny Sixkiller started for Washington
• Bradford's father was an OU linemen in 77-78
• As a freshman, broke NCAA freshman passing record of 29 touchdowns set by David Neill in 1998 and tied by Colt McCoy in 2006
• Current efficiency of 186.28 is an NCAA record, previously held by Colt Brennan (186)

2008 Heisman Facts

• Tebow received most 1st place votes
• Top three received 90.4% of votes
• This is the 2nd closest that the 3rd place finisher's point total has ever been to the winning total (151 points)
• This is the 13th time that two players from the same school have been selected to the top 10 (Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech)
• Fifth time that a prospective two-time Heisman winner has placed third after winning the Heisman the year before
• 11 Heisman winners have won the National Championship in the same year
• Oklahoma has never won a Heisman and a National Championship in the same year

Sam Bradford, Sophomore, QB, Oklahoma
"I don't think I could put it into words...it's kind of a surreal experience."

"I was pretty nervous; I wasn't expecting my name to be called, when it was it was just a lot of excitement!"

"This experience has been great and if I could do this all over again I'd love to."

Colt McCoy, Junior, QB, Texas
"I enjoyed this weekend, I had a great time!"

"That's tough; you set your sights high and [want to] win that trophy..."

"...I'm excited about the opportunity to come back. Not many players get to play quarterback for four years at such a prestigious university like Texas; I'm honored to be able to say that I'm coming back."

"...all three of us are well-deserving of that award and I'm thankful to be here and excited about it..."

Tim Tebow, Junior, QB, Florida
"Either they love us or they hate us--that's Gator nation!"

"Anything can happen, I have one more chance right?"

"I wanted to win, I'm competitive. I want to win in everything I do. Obviously I wanted to win that [Heisman Trophy a second time.]"

"Why get over it? Just use it as motivation like Ole Miss. Just use it like that."

"I appreciate everybody who voted and who voted for me because they think I was worthy.